This week starts off on the heels of Mercury forming a sweet sextile to Venus. Our hearts are open and coloring our minds' eyes with all the grace and charm of Venus in Pisces. This aspect is ideal for resolving differences, getting to know someone more intimately, networking, or negotiating over closing a deal.
This is a sweet kiss on the cheek before we move on to the final day of Aries season.
On Monday, April 18th, we encounter a radical shift in desires as Venus forms a sextile to Uranus. Venus is stimulated here, she is ready to take risks and release her inhibitions. It is time to look beyond the scope of our reality. We may find ourselves attracted to people outside of our usual “type” or find ourselves in unexpected romantic situations.
Though we can expect anything started under this influence to be rather short-lived. Uranus is rather uncommitted to being tied to one way of being and this aspect can inspire sudden shake-ups within our Venusian desires. Sextiles blend energies to create opportunity, when Venus meets Uranus there is an unconventional opportunity for change in the realm of values, beauty, money, or love.
The Aries Sun forms a tense square to Pluto in Capricorn, marking the end of Aries season. This clash of the titans can feel like the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Pluto has had a say in closing so many planetary shifts over the last few months ensuring each transfer of power to possess an intense quality.
This transit can cause sudden upheaval which exposes subconscious fears or blocks to personal power. Our triggers can serve as a testament to our growth or reflect the ground we still have left to cover.
Tempers can fly on this day if we are not careful with our words. We might find ourselves at odds with authority figures or fighting to maintain control. There is an opportunity to relinquish a need to control through deep psychological transformation but only if we are able to detach from ego-centric thinking.
On Tuesday, April 19th, the Sun escapes from Pluto’s clutches and finds contentment in the sign of Taurus.
Taurus the Bull is the fixed Earth sign of the lushest part of spring. This is where the ideas we dreamt up during Pisces season that were planted during Aries season begin to take root.
There is a distinct tonal shift between Aries and Taurus. Whereas Aries inspires impulsive action, Taurus does not rush for anybody or anything. Much like their ruling planet Venus, they set off to achieve harmony through the lens of a methodical, practical Earth sign.
Taurus’ pace is typically slow and steady. They set out to achieve results as close to perfect as they can and reward themselves with the highest quality of whatever their preferred means of satisfaction is. Taurus season is a time to stop and smell the roses by finding the things that make life enjoyable.
Taurus wants us to indulge in our senses. We can see natural beauty bloom all around us, feel the sun on our skin, and find joy in simple pleasures. While this transit typically represents a “time to chill” and be consistent, this year Taurus season hosts absolute chaos. We will have to utilize Taurus’ steady approach in facing off with a solar eclipse in Taurus, a lunar eclipse in Scorpio, three planetary shifts, and two planetary retrograde transits.
The next series of eclipses takes place on April 30th and May 16th. Eclipses are energetically unpredictable and foster unexpected changes. This is not necessarily a bad thing but for the sign that likes to know exactly how everything is going to play out, it is less than ideal.
Eclipses occur when the South Node of Fate + the North Node of Destiny is either in conjunction or in opposition to the Sun and the Moon.
The South Node is the subconscious influence from the past whereas the north node is the conscious tie to the future. During eclipses, the nodes attempt to “swallow” the Sun or the Moon when they meet, converging influences of past and future. Time feels extremely unstable during eclipse season for this reason.
Under eclipse energy, we find fated circumstances or karmic shifts. All throughout Taurus season this year we are susceptible to dramatic change. We are being forced to relinquish control and go with the flow especially with Taurus’ planetary ruler in Pisces until May 2nd.
Venus in Pisces is soft, sweet, and delicate in her approach. Once Venus is in Aries, Taurus season will have a distinctly different lens coloring it. Venus in Aries has a much shorter fuse and is much less likely to lay their swords down in the face of contention.
Jupiter follows shortly behind Venus on May 10th enters Aries.
This transit will wake us up a bit. Under Pisces' immersive influence we may have become a bit too unrealistic. Aries is ready to take steps to forge out of the daydream and breakthrough into a new reality. We are gauging things strategically and brazenly taking steps forward.
Mercury will be entering Gemini sign of its domicile on April 29th. Mercury loves being in Gemini! The twins' love for collecting information, looking at the world with curious eyes, and forming connections is what Mercury is all about.
For the short time, Mercury is direct in Gemini we will notice some retro-shade from Mercury retrograde’s shadow period starting April 25th.
Shadow periods act as a precursor to the actual transit. We can expect delays, miscommunications or misunderstandings, and difficulties with technology or travel. Mercury begins to function a bit haywire and we may find ourselves feeling a bit more insular when dealing with our mundane experiences.
Mercury retrograde begins on May 10th when Mercury at 4º Gemini stations back towards 26º Taurus.
This retrograde is similar to the one that occurred in Aquarius through Capricorn from January 14th through February 3rd. The energy moving from air to earth is the distinction between fast-paced, stimulating, kinetic energy and slow-moving, methodical, grounded energy. Time is once again a central theme of this transit.
Taurus honors time as a precious resource and makes sure to utilize it wisely. Taurus will get the task completed correctly but not without the sacrifice of time. They honor this endurance and tenacity by utilizing the same stamina when it comes to pleasure. There is no lack when it comes to Taurus, they embody abundance in all forms.
Pluto’s annual retrograde begins on April 29th and will end on October 8th.
Pluto is an outer planet meaning the influence of this retrograde is felt less on a personal level and more on a collective scale. Pluto in Capricorn has shed light collectively on how the overall structure which governs our society is breaking down (meaning capitalism, white supremacy, and of course, the patriarchy).
During Pluto’s retrograde, we can expect events to further expose the system’s failure and inspire the framework for what can replace it. This transit embodies breaking everything down to build it back up again.
Individually, we are being asked to access our inner power by tapping into our spiritual growth. This may require us to take agency over ourselves to face demons or create firm grounding practices but we are supported through Pluto retrograde to access higher consciousness by detoxifying our lives.
Taurus season this year will act as a turning point for us all. With so many transits pointing to incoming change, we are encouraged to work with the flow of things instead of digging our heels into the ground. Resistance to these transits will only make grasping the lesson that much harder.
Taurus desires consistency but this Taurus season we are being asked to remain adaptable. It may be difficult to stay grounded with time feeling both fast and slow all at once. The de-stabilizing nature of this season can trigger some intense growth and a chance to rework our plans in order to perpetuate further growth.
Allow yourself to find gratitude for every part of the journey, even when it’s not going according to plan. Being present and unbothered in the face of adversity is what is required of us in order to make sure everything keeps running smoothly. From now until May 20th we must embrace the unknown, no matter how it may make us feel. We may find it more challenging to keep calm, but we will have to keep carrying on.
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